Avengers, X-Men, Spider-Man & More Get a Marvel Comics Makeover

Last year, Marvel announced that they are bringing back the beloved comic book series The Age of Apocalypse, which will spin off of their massive Secret Wars series. Of course, the news wasn't too surprising, since X-Men: Apocalypse is set to hit theaters this summer. Now the comic book company has announced another special surprise, leading up to this movie's release. IGN has the first look at seven variant covers that will be released throughout May, featuring beloved characters such as Spider-Man and Captain America.

These covers give fans a glimpse at how these heroes might have looked during the Age of Apocalypse comics, with other heroes such as the Guardians of the Galaxy, Uncanny X-Men, The Astonishing Ant-Man, All-New, All-Different Avengers and All-New X-Men. Other comics that will be getting variant covers throughout the month of May include Black Panther #2, Black Widow #3, Captain Marvel #5, Daredevil #7, Deadpool #11, Doctor Strange #8, Extraordinary X-Men #10, Howard the Duck #7, Invincible Iron Man #9, Ms. Marvel #7, Power Man and Iron Fist #4, The Punisher #1, Spider-Gwen #8, Thunderbolts #1, Totally Awesome Hulk #7 and Uncanny Inhumans #8.

The original Age of Apocalypse comic series was published between 1995 and 1996. The story is set in a world where Professor X's death allowed Apocalypse to take over the world, leaving Magneto to lead the X-Men against him. This story naturally won't cross over with 20th Century Fox's X-Men: Apocalypse, but it's interesting that Marvel is bringing back a comic book story featuring this villain, especially since the company doesn't hold the X-Men movie rights.

Apocalypse Wars kicks off during May in Extraordinary X-Men, followed by Uncanny X-Men in June and All-New X-Men in July. These are the only three comics that will be involved in the series, and the other 20 comics that are getting variant covers won't be included in the story, but it will be interesting to see how these characters are shown in this unique world. It isn't known when the rest of the variant comic book covers will be released, so stay tuned for more updates.

The new Age of Apocalypse will feature a new version of the same story from the original comics, which will most likely feature different characters since many heroes died in the original Age of Apocalypse run. The series was originally slated to debut in March, continuing through April and May, but now the comics have been pushed to presumably coincide with X-Men: Apocalypse's theatrical release on May 27. What do you think about Age of Apocalypse getting a new story this May? Let us know what you think, after taking a look at these comic book covers.